(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued a legal decree creating a new special commission to help health care organizations belonging to the Church and to Church organizations to manage their finances and stay true to their founding mission and spirit. The decree, called a “rescript”, creates the Pontifical Commission for the Activities of Public Juridical Persons of the Church in the Healthcare Sector.

The new Commission shall be composed by a President and six experts the fields of healthcare, real estate, management, business administration, and finance. It shall have power to carry out general studies to ascertain the sustainability of the healthcare systems of the juridical persons of the Church, and to prepare long-range operational sustainability strategies in keeping with the Social Doctrine of the Church.